


Not another class trip!

by Frisian



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Maribat - Fandom, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Implied/Referenced Character Death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-17 10:42:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29840328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frisian/pseuds/Frisian
Summary: Due to a past incident (Talk of the death of characters in broad terms and I'm sorry but it was the only way I could make my plan work :( ) Marinette ends up with a big decision to make on a class trip to Gotham. Because where else would you send kids but to the most dangerous city in the world.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Alfred Pennyworth, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Bruce Wayne, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Damian Wayne, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Dick Grayson, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Jason Todd, Tim Drake & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 62
Kudos: 95





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I had this idea in my head for a while, not long after I started reading Maribat fics (which was months ago). I haven't written in a while so when I started to tonight I couldn't stop and now I'm posting far too late at night and I'm going to regret it!
> 
> This isn't beta-ed but hopefully isn't filled with mistakes, I apologize for any issues!

A sixteen year old Marinette slumped over as she sat on the bench outside of Wayne Enterprises doing everything she could not to let her misty eyes become tears.

“You okay?” Jason Todd sat down beside Marinette on the bench.

Marinette glanced up at the man that sat beside her, “Oh, you’re the guy that was working security for the tour. My class left to go back to the hotel without me, I should’ve expected it but it still hurts to be forgotten.”

“They left you here alone? What the fuck, this is Gotham not Paris.” Jason grumbled, his fists clenched in anger.

“I didn’t even want to come here, of all places. Why did I promise Adrien I’d go through with this.” Marinette let out a loud sigh and turned completely to Jason watching as he put away his phone.

“I called a ride for you, it shouldn’t take too long. Maybe enough time to tell me what this promise is? Seems like you could use an ear. What about Gotham were you so worried about, besides the Rogues, kidnapping, murder, robberies.” A smirk was plastered on Jason’s face.

“It’s not exactly a happy story, are you sure you want to hear it?” Marinette wiped her eyes. The thought of being able to talk to someone besides Adrien was tempting. Someone removed from the situation might let her ramble with no consequence.

“Unhappy stories follow me around, let’s hear what you got, Pixie.”

“Pixie?” Marinette questioned.

“You’re tiny.”

Marinette glared at Jason.

“And you were flitting about during the tour to see everything and anything you could get a look at like an overexcited fairy.”

Marinette rolled her eyes even as the edges of her lips curled up in a small smile. “Alright, let’s start at the beginning.”

\-----Two Years Ago-----

Marinette smiled as she walked back from the fabric store. Finally she had the last few things she needed to finish her Papa’s birthday present. She knew she’d have just enough time before dinner to finish it, he was going to love it!

Sirens blared as a firetruck sped past Marinette, the screech of tires followed not long after. “Tikki, should we?” Marinette looked to her Kwami questioningly.

Tikki zipped around the corner of the building they were approaching. “Marinette! It’s the bakery, hurry!”

Marinette broke into a run around the corner, shock took over her as she collapsed to the ground. The bakery was all but completely burned down. The firetruck she had seen was the second to arrive, the fire was out and she could see someone being brought out by the firemen. The shock overtook her and she blacked out.

\-----Present Day-----

“Fuck! How bad was it in the end?” Jason asked.

Marinette let out a choked sob before composing herself. “My Nonna and Grandpere were over for my Papa’s birthday. Maman was there too. None of them made it.”

“I’m sorry, Pixie.”

“It’s okay. Well, not okay. But i’m doing my best to come to terms with it all. Adrien was there for me, still is. I’d never have been left behind if he was here, but his father had him go with him to New York before he could come join the class here.” Marinette let out a long slow breath.

“Boyfriend I’m guessing?”

“Something like that.” A soft smile spread over Marinette’s face. “He’s always been there for me, more than I knew for a long time.” Marinette continued her story, though she had to make some major alterations about how things went after the aftermath of the fire.

\-----Two years ago-----

“You needed to meet, Bugaboo?” Chat said with pep in his voice after he reached the top of the Eiffel Tower.

“I… I need your help.” Ladybug managed to let out between sobs.

“What’s wrong? I’m here for you.” Chat pulled Ladybug into a tight hug.

“Do you trust me?”

“Of course, M’lady. With my life.” Chat stepped back from the hug to look Ladybug in the eyes.

“I need you to close your eyes.”

Chat followed Ladybug’s request without any delay.

Ladybug followed suit and shut her eyes. “Spots off.”

A gasp left Chat Noir’s mouth before he felt hands on his, something being placed on his palm. “I need you to put on the earrings and give me your ring.” Marinette said, still doing her best to hold in her sobs.

“I… okay, I trust you Ladybug. Claws in.” Adrien did as he was told, and with a nod from Tikki he transformed, waiting until he heard Lady Noir’s transformation complete before he opened his eyes. “What’s going on M’lady?”

Lady Noir collapsed into Mister Bug’s arms and started bawling her eyes out.

Mister Bug held Lady Noir close to him and when it became clear she wasn’t ready to talk he just softly stroked her back. Nearly a dozen de-evilized Akumas later Lady Noir was finally able to tell him what happened.

\-----Present Day-----

“Not long after that Adrien learned something very important about me and me about him. He’s continued to be by my side ever since. Even when Lila turned them all against me, Adrien was always there for me.” Marinette looked at Jason trying to read what his reaction was, she couldn’t help but be impressed with how he could hide what he was thinking.

“I assume Lila was that little snot that kept bragging about everything under the sun, spewing the obvious lies, and flirting with anyone she thought was important.” Jason scoffed.

“You could tell they were lies?” Marinette was surprised to say the least.

“Of course, she didn’t even try to be convincing. Who would fall for that nonsense?”

“Everyone in my class, my teachers, other classes. I thought she was a metahuman until just now since she didn’t seem to convince you.”

Jason filed that information away with the intention of researching this Lila girl. “As terrible as that all is, it still doesn’t explain why you were so against coming to Gotham.”

\-----Eight Months Ago-----

“I think it’s time, Adrien. I want to go through what’s still in the bakery. Find anything that wasn’t destroyed in the fire. Will you come with me?” Marinette leaned against Adrien as they talked on her couch.

“Of course, you know I’m always by your side M’lady.” Adrien gave Marinette a soft smile. “I told you that whenever you were ready I’d go with you.”

“Me too, Pigtails.” Plagg spoke up through a mouthful of cheese.

Tikki nuzzled Marinette’s cheek as a sign of support. “We’re all with you, Marinette.”

It wasn’t a long walk from Master Fu’s old massage parlor where Marinette had been living until they would reach the bakery. Wayzz had told Marinette that Master Fu had left the shop in her name before he named her the new Guardian, just in case he had to do so under duress. 

Lila’s lies did accomplish one thing, her spreading rumors to the police and social workers made them not want to bother with her, letting her slip under the radar. Living with a foster family would have made it extremely difficult to go out as Ladybug. 

She couldn’t stay with any friends as they believed the whispers from Lila that Marinette had started the fire, which she had most definitely not. Not that anyone was close enough to be called a friend at that point besides Adrien. Gabriel had no intention of opening up his home to anyone so that wasn’t an option, to nobody’s surprise.

The search through the bakery didn’t turn up much, though thankfully some pictures and keepsakes managed to survive. Marinette collected them into a bag that Adrien carried around for her.

“Pigtails, come see this!” Plagg called from Marinette’s parents room.

Marinette and Adrien went to see what Plagg found.

“A half burnt up safe?” Adrien questioned. He tried to open it but it wasn’t budging, despite the fact that the fire did manage to do damage and disfigure the safe door. While Plagg was able to unlock the safe, the door was too damaged to properly open. One transformation and a carefully placed Cataclysm put that obstacle behind them.

Marinette looked through the papers, a disappointed look on her face at how few things weren’t destroyed. She grabbed an envelope that seemed to be in nearly perfect condition that was near the middle of the stack of papers and files. “This is Manan’s writing, a letter to me.”

[Marinette, if you’re reading this, the worst has happened and I’m sorry we didn’t tell you sooner so we could answer any questions you might have. The lawyers will have any important documents for the bakery, our bank accounts, and insurance, but this is much more personal. I’ll get to the point to not leave you wondering, your Papa is not your biological father.

Before I left China and came to France I had a one night stand with a man after having a few to many drinks at my going away party. I found out I was pregnant after meeting your Papa and you know how he is, a big fluffy romantic teddy bear. He proposed on the spot and promised to raise you as his own, if I’d let him. He already had a ring, I knew it wasn’t just because of you, but it meant the world to me that he would step up without a second thought.

We planned to tell you on your sixteenth birthday, but I guess we won’t get that chance. I only learned of who your biological father was after seeing him on an American news story on TV. Your Papa found out all he could and put together a file for you to have if you wanted to learn more about him. He knew you would always be his little baguette, but he wanted you to know he wouldn’t be upset if you wanted to learn about your biological father.

Please forgive us for not telling you sooner, part of me will always be ashamed that I let myself get out of control at the party. But I would do it again a thousand times over because it meant you came into our lives. We love you more than anything, always remember that.

Love, Maman and Papa]

Marinette handed the letter to Adrien after she read through it several times. She began to dig through the other papers in the safe as Adrien went through the letter. Once he was finished she held up the folder her Papa had put together, it was heavily burnt and very few things in it were legible.

“Wow… I’m not sure what to say, Mari. You must be in complete shock, take some time, you don’t have to look through that yet.” Adrien gave Marinette a side-hug as she held the folder.

Marinette shook her head and opened up the folder. “I need to know, before this all catches up with me I should have as much information as I can.”

Adrien and Marinette looked through the papers in the folder however the damage was too extensive to find anything more than several mentions of Gotham, New Jersey and “Wayne”. Anything else came up too infrequently to make it possible to put together much information.

\-----Present Day-----

“Of course he did.” Jason groaned. “And the promise?”

“That if I ever ended up in Gotham I would try to find my birth father. Part of me feels like I’d be betraying my Papa, even if he was okay with me looking. So I figured making that promise was the best way to let it be decided. Honestly I was sure I’d never end up here and would have the decision safely out of my hands. I didn’t even do any research online, leaving it all up to fate, I should’ve known better with my luck.” Marinette felt a slap against her thigh from inside her purse.

“But you are here.” Jason said pointedly.

“Class trip, I did everything I could to direct us to a different city. Star City, National City, Metropolis, there were so many other choices. But Lila wanted Gotham, she bragged about knowing the Wayne family and how the class would be treated like royalty because of her. They think this tour was because of how special she is and her connections. A simple google search would show them Wayne Enterprises offer tours to foreign classes on a regular basis.”

Jason grinned, “Oh boy will she be in for a surprise. Come on, Pixie, let’s go. Ever ridden on a motorcycle before?”

“Nonna had one, I have many memories of small trips with her, it’s been a long time since I’ve been on one though.” Marinette replied as she looked at Jason quizzically. “You’re going to take me to my hotel?”

“No, we’re going to Wayne Manor.” Jason started to head to the parking garage.

“What? We can’t do that! You can’t just walk up to their house and tell them all this out of the blue.” Marinette looked scandalized.

“You already did, Pixie.” Jason said over his shoulder. “Jason Todd-Wayne, your chauffeur for the day.”

Marinette chased after Jason, silently catastrophizing to a level only she could manage.

\-----

Jason’s motorcycle pulled into the Manor’s garage a half an hour later. “Looks like he did it twice!” He yelled as soon as him and Marinette stepped into the manor. “Everyone into the study!”

“Master Jason, who is the young lady?” Alfred appeared out of nowhere causing Marinette to jump.

“M-Marinette Dupain-Cheng, sir.”

“A pleasure, Miss Marinette. I am Alfred Pennyworth, butler to the Wayne family. If you would follow me I can bring you to the study. No doubt this will be an important conversation, I will make sure everyone gathers before I prepare some tea and snacks.” Alfred began to lead Marinette through the large and intimidating manor.

“It’s nice to meet you Mister Pennyworth. I’m very sorry for coming here unannounced. Jason said it would be okay but I truly did not want to interfere.” Marinette said quietly as she followed behind Alfred. Jason had already left, likely to help round up whomever needed to be a part of the conversation.

“Please, call me Alfred.”

“Okay, Alfred. But only if you tell me why you’re taking a roundabout way to where we are headed.” Marinette said with a small smile.

Alfred returned Marinette’s smile. “You’re quite observant, Miss Marinette. I hope you will forgive the deception, I felt it best everyone was gathered before you arrived at the study. While it might be intimidating for you, I think you would rather only tell this story once.”

“Thank you, Alfred, I don’t even really want to tell it once, so more than once would be dreadful.” Marinette finished speaking just as they finally approached their destination.

“I’ll leave you to it, while the family may be a lot to take in, I promise they are good people who will listen to you and do their best to be kind.” Alfred said before he started to walk off. “I’ll return with refreshments after you’ve spoken with the family.”

Marinette reluctantly entered the room and found it nearly packed full of people.

“Hey, Pixie. Let me run through the introductions real quick and then you can tell them your story, or whatever parts you want to share.” Jason spoke up from the large armchair in the corner of the room.

Jason pointed out everyone in the room as he introduced them. “That’s Dick, Tim, Damian, Stephanie, Cassandra, Barbara, Duke, and your father, Bruce Wayne.”

The room went silent for a few moments before Damian spoke up. “Impossible, I am the only blood heir, she must be lying.”

“She didn’t even know it was him, Demon Spawn, she didn’t want to come here at all. Look at her, tell me she doesn’t have Bruce’s characteristics.” Jason jumped to Marinette’s defense.

There were more questions and accusations shouted before Bruce’s voice silenced everyone. “Forgive my family, Marinette. Could you tell me how you came to be here, perhaps we can figure this all out together. Please have a seat.”

Damian fumed in the corner of the room as Marinette told the relevant parts of her story. The family listened patiently, or at least as patiently as the group could manage.

“I see.” Bruce said after Marinette finished. “I can’t say it’s impossible, I have done plenty of business in China. We would need to do a DNA test, I’m sure you can understand the need for that.”

“Of course, Mister Wayne. You can’t just accept anyone that comes in off the street. I’m not looking for anything like money or being able to use your name. I’m only doing this for answers, and to respect what my Papa tried to do. I’m not looking for a father, but I wouldn’t be upset to find out I have family… that’s still alive that is.”

“Tell me though, Marinette. I probably should’ve asked this first.” Bruce cleared his throat, a bit embarrassed to have skipped such an important question. “What is your Mother’s name?”

“Sabine Cheng.” Marinette replied.

The sound of a tray dropping and cups shattering on the floor cut through the room, after which complete silence took over and all eyes turned to a shocked Alfred who was staring at Marinette.

Jason was the first to break the silence, “Holy shit!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have ideas for this to go forward but thought I'd keep it as a one shot to see what reactions it gets and if there is any interest in me going forward, I hope you enjoyed it :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We find out the reason for Alfred's reaction to hearing Marinette's mother's name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After so many kind and encouraging comments I had to continue the story. I hope this goes down the path people may have been expecting. I thought I left enough of a hint but it's easy to assume when you're the one writing something.
> 
> Thank you so much for the interest, it means a lot!
> 
> Updates won't come daily despite this being posted a day after the first, I just really wanted to share the next part and make sure those that read it would know this will be a longer story.
> 
> I hope people will enjoy it! Again this isn't beta-ed and written too late at night, I really need to work on that.

Bruce looked on in surprise at his father figure who rarely lost his composure, “Alfred, are you alright?”

“Forgive me, Master Bruce, I lost myself for a moment. Allow me to clean this up and then I will return.” Alfred quickly recovered the tray and damaged cups before leaving the room. The family had never seen him so skittish and not put together.

“What just happened here?” Tim asked the room in general as he continued to look where Alfred had been.

“I’m honestly not sure,” Bruce replied.

Jason let out a small scoff and spoke under his breath, “World’s greatest detective my ass.”

Cassandra and Marinette both turned to Jason as he spoke, Marinette unsure if she heard him correctly. Cass only offered a knowing nod to Jason.

“Why did Alfred react like that, do you think he knows of Marinette’s mother?” Duke questioned.

Marinette shuffled anxiously, “I don’t know, I’m not sure how she would, but I’m probably more lost than any of you. Does Mister Pennyworth tend to arrive and leave rooms so suddenly often? Perhaps he was just startled?”

“Tch.” Damian let out an indignant noise. “Pennyworth would not get startled by something so simple. Obviously he knows your mother’s name and is aware of her being some sort of harlot. Trapping my Father in hopes of getting his fortune after bearing his child.

Marinette stood up angrily, “How dare y-”

“Master Damian, be silent. You will not speak ill of Sabine like that.” Alfred stated in his most strict voice as he arrived back in the study doorway.

“Oooh, Demon Spawn is in trouble.” Jason snickered.

The majority of the family looked at Alfred in shock after seeing him come to Marinette’s mother’s defense, going so far as to silence Damian.

\-----Seventeen years ago, give or take a few months-----

“Yes, Master Bruce. I understand, I’ll await your contact after you finish up with your lead on the League of Assassins.” Alfred hung up his cell phone and placed it in his pocket. 

“He tracks Ra’s Al Ghul down and expects me to wait for him here. Perhaps this is bordering on obsession.” Alfred let out a long sigh before straightening his suit and wiping the thought from his mind. “I promised to serve faithfully and Bruce is like a son to me, someone has to protect him from himself after all.

Knowing full well that he would not hear from Bruce that evening and exhausted from this past week of tracking the League throughout China, Alfred decided to unwind with a drink before heading back to the hotel. A somewhat packed club near him grabbed his attention, at least if it’s relatively full he has a better chance to blend in.

Several louder patrons are saying similar statements, “We’re going to miss you! But you’re going to have amazing adventures in Europe,” Alfred could only assume it is some sort of going away party, a group of twenty-somethings are gathered together at several tables.

Alfred made his way over to the bar and ordered before moving to a booth near the back of the club to nurse his drink. He’s not one to be bothered by the rambunctiousness of the club, little time passed before he slipped into his own thoughts as he sipped his Fernet Branca.

“Over there, I bet he’s from Europe! Get him to join us, he can share stories and he looks like he could use some company anyhow!” A voice came from across the room, before he realised what was happening Alfred was being dragged over to the group that were celebrating their friend going away.

Alfred regales the group with stories of his travels and politely accepts the drinks offered to him. “I’ve only been drunk once, I’m certain I can keep control of my faculties.” He sounded completely sober despite the many drinks offered to him, but missed the look of excitement that came across the faces of two women behind him. Without realising it the frequency of new drinks coming across him increased.

“Come on, Alfie! You have to keep up with us.” The women continued to bring over new drinks and before long Alfred started to feel light headed. He gladly ignores the feeling as he’s been enjoying the conversation with one specific woman from amongst the party goers. She’s clever, funny, kind, and has the most beautiful smile he’s ever seen.

The next morning arrived before Alfred even realised the previous night had finished. He winced at the light coming from the window of his hotel room, and held his head at the oncoming headache. “Perhaps I overdid it,” He groaned. As he sat up he noticed a note on the nightstand across the bed. He allowed his headache to subside somewhat before he reached over to grab and read the note.

[Alfred, I’m sorry I had to leave before you woke up, I was in a rush. I’m not one to do what we just did, in fact I’ve never done this before. But you were so charming and wonderful to talk with, I think we got carried away. Even though we won’t see each other again, I want you to know that our time will remain special to me even if it’s entirely out of character.

I wish you nothing but the best,

Sabine]

Alfred let out a long sigh, “She didn’t leave a number to contact her, this can’t have been just a passing thing. Perhaps we drank too much but surely she felt the same connection I did.”

The ringing of his phone snapped Alfred from his thoughts. “Yes, Master Bruce? Understood, I will meet you at the airfield shortly but there is something I must take care of first. No, it’s nothing to worry about, I will see you soon.” A quick shower and several tylenol later and Alfred was off to the club in order to track down Sabine.

\-----

“I’m sorry sir, I’m afraid I can’t help you. I didn’t hear any last names from the group you joined last night. All any of us really learned from the group was that they were wishing their friend Sabine well and that she was moving to somewhere in Europe.” The bartender told Alfred with an apologetic frown on her face.

“She was the one who was leaving? Drat, damn my luck! If I left you my information would you be able to pass it on to any of the people she was with if you see them?” Alfred asked with hope in his voice that surprised even himself.

“Of course, I’d be glad to.”

Alfred sadly never heard from Sabine, she was a special memory in his mind that he kept just for himself.

\-----Present Day-----

“You have her smile, Marinette.” Alfred said with a kind look. “It seems the young Miss isn’t here for you Master Bruce. She’s here for me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Were you surprised? Did I make it obvious enough in the first chapter? Ever wonder how Marinette is able to come up with great ideas on the fly? Creativity is important, but perhaps a bit of Pennyworth mystery, skill, and frankly some sort of butler magic is a part of it all too!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette reacts to finding out about her birth father. Afterwards she meets up with her class.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy! Not beta-ed again, and also written late at night again.

“You have her smile, Marinette.” Alfred said with a kind look. “It seems the young Miss isn’t here for you Master Bruce. She’s here for me.”

The room was quiet as everyone processed what Alfred said before Marinette spoke up, “I… um, I think I should be getting back to the hotel. When the teachers do a headcount later one of them will actually notice I’m missing.”

Alfred’s face dropped so slightly that nobody outside the family would have noticed it. There was a bit of a shock from several of the people in the room when Marinette made it clear that she did.

“I would like to meet you again though.” Marinette said quietly as she looked at Alfred.

“That would be wonderful.” Alfred handed Marinette a card, “This also has my personal number on it, please call at any time. I will ensure I can come meet you or you can come here. I look forward to learning more about you and hearing about your life. If you’ll let me. I can drive you back to the hotel if you’d like?”

Marinette fidgeted slightly, “I might need some time before we talk more, maybe…” she turned to Jason.

“Sure I can take you to the hotel, Auntie Marinette.” Jason said with a smirk.

There were a few groans and chuckles throughout the room, Marinette only looked confused.

“I’ll explain it to you later, Pixie.” Jason said as he started to lead Marinette back out to his motorcycle.

Marinette followed along, turning to give a small wave to those in the room before heading out.

\-----

Jason leaned against his motorcycle outside the hotel. “And since Alfred basically raised Bruce, he’s like a father to him and a grandfather to us. So yeah, Auntie Marinette.”

Marinette groaned. “You do realise you must be older than me, right? I’m only sixteen.”

“Nineteen myself, but that doesn’t change anything, Auntie Marinette.” Jason grinned.

“You grin almost as much as Ch- Adrien.” Marinette shook her head and huffed in exasperation.

“I expect to hear more about this Adrien next time we meet, Pixie. We seem to have an audience though, so you should probably head in.” Jason pointed to several people watching from inside the hotel.

Marinette turned and groaned, “That’s some of the people from my class, I can only imagine what story they are going to have in their heads about where I was and who you are.”

“Want me to come in?” Jason asked.

“No, no. You go. I’ll sort it, thank you, Jason. And even though your assumption was wrong, thank you for taking me to your home. This is… beyond weird for me, but I think I am looking forward to getting to know Alfred. Slowly.” Marinette gave Jason a small shy smile before she started to head inside.

“Oh! Pixie, I put my number in your phone. Text me if you need anything.” Jason started up his motorcycle.

“Wait, how did you do that? I never gave you my phone!” Marinette yelled at Jason as he sped away laughing.

Marinette headed inside the hotel as she shook her head. With a deep breath she prepared herself for whatever lies Lila had likely planted in the heads of her classmates before she passed through the doors.

“Wow, Adrien can’t come for the first few days of the trip so Marinette hooks up with some older guy with a motorcycle.” Lila’s sickly sweet voice pierced Marinette’s ears before she stepped even three feet into the hotel lobby.

“It’s not like that, Lila.” Marinette began to head over to where Ms. Mendeleiev was starting to gather the class for a headcount, she did her best to look away from the eyes of her nearby classmates, a glance at Alya already told her that she believed what Lila was saying.

“Marinette, did you just come in from outside? Where were you?” The strict science teacher spoke up upon seeing Marinette.

“Oh, it’s alright. Lila told me that she would join us later. Something about meeting her uncle Oswald Cobblepot.” Ms. Bustier chimed in before Marinette could respond.

“Caline, I hardly think Marinette’s uncle is The Penguin. Now where were you, Marinette?” Ms. Mendeleiev repeated.

“I was left behind at Wayne Enterprises, Ma’am. An employee there was nice enough to bring me to the hotel.” Marinette chose a truthful albeit redacted version of what happened.

“Caline, you said you did a headcount before we left!” Ms. Mendeleiev snapped at her colleague.

“Well, Lila said-” Ms. Bustier began.

The science teacher held up her finger to Ms. Bustier, “I don’t care what Lila said. I’ll be doing all the headcounts from now on. Please hand Marinette the keycard to her room while I finish confirming the rest of the class is here.” After everyone was confirmed to be there and everything was in order, she continued, “We’ll all be heading to our rooms. Mr. Wayne called the hotel just a short bit ago to ensure we had free access to all amenities at the hotel so everyone will get room service for the dinner and be given a chance to work on their essays about what they learned today during the tour of Wayne Enterprises.”

Marinette was unsure whether to be grateful to Mr. Wayne or annoyed that he likely called after she met the family and gave the class special attention. At least no mention of her name was a part of it all.

“Marinette, you’ll be in your own room, the suites were given out to the students who chose to pair up for the time we stay here. Since you’re the only one who is by themselves you’ll take the single room.” Ms. Bustier said with a smile.

“Of course I am.” Marinette mumbled under her breath.

The class went to the elevators to head upstairs, the majority sending Marinette various looks and sneers. Nobody seemed to care that Marinette would be on her own.

“It was so nice of Bruce Wayne to set us up in such fancy suites and to make sure we had extra amenities here because his family is so close to you Lila!” Rose said from one of the elevators that the class piled into.

Marinette rolled her eyes at what she heard, she made the choice to wait for the rest of the class to head up in the elevators so she could ride alone after they had all gone.

\-----

“Tikki, Ladybug can somehow fast forward time so Adrien can be here sooner right? You just forgot to mention that power didn’t you?” Marinette said as soon as she closed the door to her hotel room behind her.

“Sorry, Marinette. Fluff could help you, or have you end up in a time loop where you constantly live the three days here without Adrien over and over again.” Tikki said letting out a small laugh, before flying over to her chosen and hugging her cheek.

“Yup, not risking that.” Marinette collapsed on the bed before pulling out her phone to facetime Adrien.

“M’lady! How was the first day? Everything went well I hope?” Adrien spoke cheerily through the phone.

“Or it went just as bad as we expected. Oh, and I met my birth father.” Marinette said, her voice filled with sarcasm.

“You what? Tell me everything!” Adrien exclaimed.

\-----

“And that’s what happened,” Marinette took in a deep breath after spilling out everything to Adrien.

“Wow, what are you going to do? I wish I could be there sooner for you. If you need me to go with you for anything or meet this new family of yours I’m all in as soon as I get there. I’m not even sure why father dragged me to New York, he has me scheduled to wait in the hotel except for one meeting with some company that I didn’t bother to hear the name of.” Adrien said with a grumble to his voice.

“I’m sorry you’re stuck there, Kitty. It will be a thousand times better once you arrive.” Marinette stroked her chin as if to show she was in deep thought, “ I think I’ll stick to just calls or texts with Alfred until you arrive. I’ll be more at ease if you’re here with me before I meet with them again.”

Perhaps if Marinette knew a fair bit more about her newfound family and saw Robin perched on the building across the street from her hotel room she’d be thinking very differently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I often find when I read stories I find them having a fast or slow pacing when I read them to myself. Not sure what really makes it go one way or another, I'm curious if others have that, and how my story falls for speed? 
> 
> What could Damien is doing watching Marinette from a building across the way?


End file.
